A case of 'designed neglect' regarding Playhouse?
Out of the $20.5 million that the county has to use on the playhouse. Arquitectonica is getting $1.998 million to design it. Read that line again.
Is this mismanagement of the Playhouse money? Is this a case of fiduciary irresponsibility? Doesn't the county have a fiduciary obligation to the citizens? Is that what architects get these days?
Our Lieutenant Governor and fellow Grovite Carlos Lopez-Cantera tried to get more info from Michael Spring head of Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs at the meeting but Spring's response to not answering questions was that he did not want to interrupt Carlos' speaking time!
In the end, he had no answer to where the rest of the $20.5 million will go. I am assuming to the playhouse renovation, but there was no breakdown after four years of them piddling around. You see, Spring has not updated the state on any progress on the project since 2013.
The county is guilty of "designed neglect," as Grovite Bobby Ingraham called it at the October 19 meeting.
NOTE: The Commission meeting regarding the appeal of the current plans is being deferred. Commissioner Ken Russell stated this at Tuesday’s BID meeting. It may be taken up in December.
posted by Tom Falco at 10:00 AM
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7 Comments:
10% IS CHEAP FOR A PROJECT LIKE THIS, BY AN INTERNATIONAL FIRM.
6% has been the going rate for ages. Restore and open the historic playhouse in one piece damn it.
They should have never been hired to do that job. They are good at exteriors. Leave it at that. Not at functionality. Look at all the errors at the American Airlines Arena. No excuses in today's AutoCad world. They should have hired a known entity that design playhouses to consult with a "historical architect" to maintain the integrity of the project. I am for development and improvement but this has been a disaster. Sometimes you need to cut your losses. Pick they right group and start all over. IMO
Restore Coconut Grove's historic integrity without fudging with a restorable playhouse. At most build parking in the back and away from the original building. Keep the front parking open and turn it into an art/performance park similar to Soundscape Park in South Beach.
10% is a bit high, but renovations and theaters like these are complicated projects... keep in mind the a good chunk of those fees go to Arquitectonica’s consultants, structural, civil, MEP, theater, lighting, etc.
How much of the $20 million do you suppose was spent on the fancy propaganda video they screened at the Oct. 19 meeting? Sources say the reason they are building such a large garage for such a small theater is to have a place to park for guests of the soon to be opened hotel very close to the playhouse. Who owns the hotel? Arquitectonica. And who owns all the property on much of Main Highway? Arquitectonica. Who was awarded the contract by Michael Spring to build the ugly, poorly attended South Dade Arts Center? Arquitectonica. Does anyone notice any pattern here? Or is it all meaningless coincidence? It begs the question: what is being given to Michael Spring or to Gimenez in order for this favoritism to persist and predominate for so many years? Or again, is it all just happy coincidence?
Sure, Let's use the roman Brito of architects and turn the place into an abortion. What a cesspool of corruption.
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